ARTICLE

Exhibition From revolution to post-

Revolutions, Conversano (Italy) 14th to
24th of september 2017 - Executive sumary
By Thierry Vissol

R
evolution, Rvolution, Revolucin,
, !
Rivoluzione [rev-uh-loo-shuh n] noun
(1) celest movement, sinonym of period,
return to the starting point ; (2) whatever
lasting storical process or movement, even
non violent, through which is achieved a
radical change in the socio-economic and
political structures, or in specific activities
sectors (3) radical mutation, transformation
or innovation (4) fig. overthrow of manners
and customs (sexual revolution), habits or
physiological functions (5) moral: senses
revolution against reason.

These are some of the definitions of this

polysemic word. Whatever is the historical
period or the language, it seems that there
is at least since the 18 century a
common understanding of this noun.
Nevertheless, It is easy to say revolution Kalos, Italy
as proclaims the title of the festival Lector in
Fabulas thirtieth edition during which this
exhibition is organized. Certainly, it is easy Kalos, Italy
to wrongly qualify some changes or revolts
as revolution, if the core meaning of this
world is to be understood as a radical
change in the economical-social-political then onwards, grahic political satire will
structures or in the manners and customs, become a powerful tool for revolutionnaries

Bimbo-Damien Gonzalez - France

that is to say as a radical transformation of
the society. It is for this very reason that the
Center LIBREXPRESSION decided to
enquire on the meaning of this concept both
through selected historical graphic
representations and by asking to
well-known artists and cartoonists from
many countries (Italy, France, Denmark,
Netherlands, Turkey, Ukraine, Cuba,
Argentina, Tunisia, Morocco, Burkina-Faso,
Iran) to represent their own concept and
interpretation of revolution (being past,
present or future ones).
This exhibition From revolution to
post-revolution is presented in the
Monastery San Benedettos cloister of the
wonderful historic city of Conversano (Italy),
from the 14th to the 24th of September
2017. It proposes a thematic and historical
tour on revolutions that produced radical
transformations of our societies, starting
from the mother of all revolutions, the
French revolution of 1789-1794, up to the
Arab revolutions of these last years, with an
obvious special attention to the 1917s
Russian revolution. From the Johannes
Gutenberg technological revolution, with the
and for their adversaries, and will be
increasedly used thanks to the invention of
lythography by the German Aloys
Senefelder in 1796. Lythography will
facilitate large scale reproduction of images
specifically in the paper press and the
creations of illustrated satirical magazines.
From the beginning, graphic satire has been
(and still is) considered by the political or
religious powers as a mortal danger so as to
unchain censorship, penalties, persecutions,
imprisonment and murder of these
democracys soldiers that are the satirical
cartoonists.
Often, political revolutions, like astronomical
revolutions, bring back to the starting point.
The search for democracy, equality, basis of
most of the revolutions since 1789, was not
always successful to achieve these
objectives, even if they provoked changes
and hopes for a better future. As the
cartoonists of this exhibitions show, these
hopes for a better human future could
disappear with the global domination of the
information technologies revolution. This
later could potentially anaesthetizes any
revolution tendency, containing the germs of
Al Margen - Argentina

invention, circa 1449, of the mechanical
movanle type printing, permitting also the
reproduction of engravings, publication of
political (and religious) satire engravings
developped all over Europe thanks to
famous painters like Luca Cranach, Albrecht
Drer, Pieter Brueghel, Hans Holbein,
jacques Callot, Annibale Carraci, etc. From
a radical change not any more of the
society, but of the human being into a
puppet, what could be defined as a
post-revolution.
Thierry Vissol, director of the Centre
LIBREXPRESSION, curator of the
exhibition and editor of the catalogue.

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 Centre LIBREXPRESSION,
Foundation Giuseppe Di
Vagno
The Centre LIBREXPRESSION, Foundation Giuseppe Di Vagno is
Euro-Mediterranean center for the promotion of freedom of expres-
sion, of freedom of press and of the political satire (graphic, car-
toons, photo, literature, etc.).

The objective is mainly to promote freedom of expression and

political satire specifically graphic as a real information tool, as an
instrument for democracy and as an art, to contribute to the
development of its use, being in education, in all kind of media
(newspaper, audiovisual, social networks, books, and in exhibitions
outside of the usual specialized exhibitions or festival (in art
galleries and museum).
The idea is quite ambitious and we expect to realize its main
objectives during the next three years. The center is organized
through four main pillars:

A promotion Agency, similar to a photo agency, to promote the work

of the Centers members (cartoonists, graphists, illustrators,
photographs being Italians, Europeans, and artists from the other
side of mare nostrum) towards media, editors, schools and
university. Obviously the problem will be to secure payments to the
Khalid Gueddar , Morocco members and full transparency of the activities. A challenge with
which we are presently dealing with. So as to secure a flow of
demand, we are also building a network of potential users (media,
editors, etc.). Already part of the project is the European network of
magazines Eurozine (more than 80 all over Europe) and some
Italian editors.

A documentation center, that is to say a real library and a virtual

library on the theme of the freedom of expression and on political
satire since the antiquity. The real library is located as a specific
department in the library of the Foundation. We intend to scan
works or satirical reviews hold by collectors, members of the center
or who would like to make their collection available. All the content
will be accessible for free, only for reading/viewing, but available for
those who would like to use it for publication used against payment
to the Center and to the copyright holders. Obviously, old works of
the artists could be stored in this databank (and the copyright will be
theirs).

A residence for artists, it will be located in the San Benedetto

Monastery in Conversano (where is also located the Foundation Di
Vagno). Regularly four to six artists (2 to 3 Europeans, 2 to 3 non-
Europeans) will be invited to stay from 1 to 3 months, to work on
their own projects. In exchange, they will have to do some confer-
ences or workshops and dedicate some art work to the region.

Didactic activities. On the basis of these three pillars, will be organ-

Tjeerd Royaards, Netherland ized various activities or projects (possibly in collaboration with
non-Italian partners having similar scope):
Formation (real and virtual) of high school and university students
(specifically from design and art schools and university) and
teachers to the freedom of expression and what it concretely
means (legal aspects, moral and political aspects), on information
sources and use of IT tools, insisting on the risks linked to fake
news, algorithms, fact-checking, reading images (photos or car-
toons), etc.
Conferences in international journalism festival, on liberty of
expression and political satire (including historical aspects);
Exhibitions (being in Conversano or in museums or Art Galleries).
The Center has already a nice place for exhibition, but that will be
enhanced.

Director : Thierry Vissol,

Contact: thierry.vissol@gmail.com
Consiglio scientifico/Scientific council/Conseil Scientifique:
Thierry VISSOL (FR/IT); Filippo GIANNUZZI (IT); Gian Paolo
ACCARDO (IT/Nl), Dino ALOI (IT), Jordi ARTIGAS (ES), Pierre
BALLOUHEY (FR), Niels BO BOJESEN (DK), Mario CALLIGIURI
(It), Jaume CAPDEVILA KAP (SP), Paolo CAPRETTINI (It),
Marina CASTELLANETA (It), Marianne CATZARAS (GR/TUN),
Carlo GUBITOSA (IT), Khalid GUEDDAR (MOR), Ilaria
GUINDANTONI (IT), Veronica LEINER (Aus), Fabio
MAGNASCIUTTI (IT), Ramses MORALES (Cuba), Marilena
NARDI (IT), Tawfiq OMRANE (TUN), Cesare PRETI (IT) Kianoush
RAMEZANI (Iran/FR), Tjeerds ROYNARDS (Nl) Assunta TOTI
BURATTI (IT), Gianfranco UBER (IT),
Kianoush, Irn-France Marco DeAngelis, Italy

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